PS4 Boost (BEAST) mode tested by Digital Foundry (More Games Tested!)

• Improvements depend on whether the game is CPU or GPU bound.
• Games that rely on both gain the most (Project Cars)
• Textures load faster
• Might just be using the increase in GPU frequency as opposes to using the full GPU
• Phantom input bug on Tomb Raider is weird
• Bioshock Infinite and Mighty #9 benefit as well, suggesting older engines like UE3 work with boost mode
• Broforce doesn't run that much better, possibly a game optimization issue

MOAR TESTS!

Bloodborne, Withcer 3, Evil Within and more!

• Bloodborne stays at 30 fps, no drop. Frame pacing is still bad since boosting hardware performance does not fix frame pacing issues.
• Same for Dark Souls 3
• Dark Souls 2 hits 60FPS with drops to 59fps
• Lords of the Fallen stable 30FPS with minor drops.
• Boost mode doesn't help Evil Within that much.
• Until Dawn doesn't get helped by Boost Mode either
• Boost mode helps Odd World. Goes from low 30's to mid 40's upper 50's
• Witcher 3 is harder to notice since the PS4 can run Witcher much better than launch. But Boost mode smooths out parts that do. Shortens load times.
• Batman AK driving is smoother and does not drop frames

"Games that rely on both gain the most (Project Cars)"

Project Cars needs more than just a boost from the PS Pro. That game is a bug ridden, performance nightmare. It was a beta for the upcoming Project Cars 2.

So the improvements are because of the increased clock speeds of the CPU and GPU only. Boost mode is a nice feature, but the benefits from a "Pro Patch" are undeniable. Lets go devs! Give us our patches!

Good to hear, SONY pushing the boundaries of tech once again.

So it's usually 5-7 frame boost which is pretty good. But the one thing I find interesting was Broforce, which was somehow worse with boost mode. (end of video)

It takes extra work for a dev to take into account two SKUs. Optimizing for both PS4 and the Pro.

So yeah 'brute forcing' it like this is bound to give some results in a few games, but not a lot in most.

I definitely look forward to PS4vsPro differences in the future, where upcoming games can be fully optimized for both:

Spiderman, Days Gone, Horizon, TLOU2 and multiplats like say RDR2 :)

@Heil68: Pushing "the boundaries of tech" by letting the Pro run at its designated frequency! Amazing revolutionary groundbreaking never seen before innovation!!!!!

Seems like brute forcing broforce doesn't work.

They have released a Nintendo 64 DD

They have released a Playstation 4 Pro

Truly they are the greatest inventors of our time.

Seems like Sony has already BEASTed the scorpio. TLHBO

why didn't they test games like fallout 4.

match that with world class game development and its no wonder SONY has received so many AA-AAAE excluives this year.

It's getting a PRO patch, but I guess it would have been interesting to see. Bloodborne and Witcher 3 interest me the most though.

Nice so nioh isn't 720p anymore?

I didn't know that the action mode was 720p on the PRO, where have you heard that?

MS better deliver superior upgraded performance than this because this is just mehish.

1.3 TF vs. 6 TF, Scorpio should be able to brute force Xbone games to hell and back.

Thats what I am expecting. Anything less is a fail.

It will obliterate the PRO, which still has 720p games despite the boost.

Does that mean Xbone has 480p games now?

Whoa bro, don't get peppered, I'm just posting facts.

Hey, that's what I'm doing too :D

But I'm not peppered ;)

Neither am I.

Then it was useless to respond in the first place then? :)

What I care about most is loading times....from Bloodborne, Fallout 4, Witcher 3 to FFXV, loading times has been bad.

FO4 Loading times are so bad.. drove me nuts

I'm bored, that's what I am. Did a 15 hour night shift at work, don't feel like playing anything, meh....

christ 15 hours, I wouldn't want to game either, would just melt onto my bed

I've gotten some sleep today, but yeah, it has been a resting day for me for the most part :P

ssd really helps

If I didn't own a PS4 the pro makes sense. I'm not sure it's worth the cost of an upgrade.

I'm saddened by the lack of Marshawn Lynch pictures.

Shame it is not using the full GPU. I don't see why they don't use it fully as long as it doesn't exceed the target frame rate. If a game like Shadowfall has a variable frame rate with a 60fps Adaptive V-Sync, it should be using the full GPU power.

What you are looking at ladies and gentleman is a preview of what next generation backwards compatibility is going to be like.

lol now i can play knack at a locked 60fps

Cpu coding of the game( using single thread or only limited deferred multithreading), which can still bottleneck the gpu and if the game is locked at 30fps. they have to individually patch the games to remove the framerate lock to force more gpu usage.

That is why I mentioned as long as it does not exceed the frame rate target which is set by the devs. In the case of KZ:SF the cap is a 60fps Adaptive V-Sync. The title is getting the boost from the clock speed increase, but the GPU is not fully unlocked, which is retarded. I don't see how unlocking the rest of the GPU causes compatibility issues as long as the game is operating under the targets set by the devs. They should be able to regulate the GPU usage and lock/unlock state at the driver level of the OS/firmware.

A PS4 fanboy once stated that what you are proposing is too complex and needs a deep understanding of memory allocation in order for it work. LMAO.

Well... I am certainly no hardware engineer, but what I am proposing makes sense based on my understanding of how game performance scales on PC. Since the PS4 is essentially a closed platform PC, it should work with PS4 and PS4 Pro scaling. Perhaps @ronvalencia could chime in as he is more knowledgeable about this stuff than I am.

My bet is that console manufacturers artificially hinder part of the hardware to improve gradually during the gen. That way they can make sure that late games continue being impressive. If they unlock everything at once devs could unleash all the power earlier and late in gen it will stop impressing users who might move to newer hardware. I'm speculating 100% here

I could defenitely use a patch for fallout 4 as well but I'm on the xbox one. The fact that the pro has released a year sooner has denitely its advantages. When does that patch release?

is the game isnt programmed to run on a 6tf gpu then it wont help. only the upped clocked can help

WUT? Thats like saying a faster graphics card would not help an older game.

Beast mode approved! I can't wait to try it out on Final Fantasy XIV.

This looks pretty great. I had a suspicion it might retain the core disable. It's amazing what an OC can do (effectively what we are seeing here)

How i wish i can buy ps4pro but the upgrade is so minimal. Im already on my 2nd PS4 and not planning to buy my 3rd one. PSpro is recommended for those who doesnt have PS4 yet.

They should have added this from the get go.

Maybe it's time to stop calling this console "half-ass"

I'm currently in the beta and it's nice to see the improvements Boost mode brings to my older PS4 games. Even though it's not making full use of the GPU power it's nice to see how well a simple OC can do to improve the performance on games. This feature should have been there from day one but better late than never I guess.